Jeremy Hunt praises Sussex hospitals

Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt paid a visit to Worthing Hospital on Friday, following its parent NHS trust being praised by the Care Quality Commission.

The Secretary of State for Health congratulated hospital staff on their achievement of an Outstanding rating from the CQC.

Mr Hunt got the chance to speak with staff and find out more about the trust’s leading approach to employee engagement.

“I want to say to everyone who works for the trust, congratulations, it is a fantastic achievement – seven trusts in the country have achieved Outstanding and Western Sussex is one of them and that is because you are brilliant with patients, you look after each other well and there is a tremendous commitment to improving safety and care,” said Mr Hunt.

The Health Secretary got some front line experience within the trust’s maternity department, prior to unveiling landmark plans to make giving birth safer in the NHS today.

He added: “Successful organisations are the ones with leaders who listen, empowering people on the front line, not just tapping into the ideas of the one person at the top.

“Successful companies are those that listen to their front line staff because that is where the best ideas come from and that is something that I think you can help the rest of the NHS understand.”

Chief executive of Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Marianne Griffiths, said: “I am exceptionally proud to work with such passionate, skilled and caring people in our hospitals in Chichester, Worthing and Shoreham.

“Despite ever-increasing demand for our services and more stringent financial constraints, together we are continuing to improve the services we provide to patients by adopting a leading approach that is revolutionising how our NHS staff can innovate and make services better for everyone.”

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